Texas Football: Mike Yurcich Says Sam Ehlinger Was 'A Big Part of Why I Came Here'

The Longhorn quarterbacks coach had high praise for his senior pupil

New Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich had several chances to see Sam Ehlinger up close and personal during his time at Oklahoma State. 

So when he got the chance to come to Austin and coach Ehlinger for his senior season, Yurcich jumped at it. 

Sam's a hell of a player and he's a big part of why I chose this position," Yurcich said. "He's an experienced quarterback. He's a proven winner."

Quarterback is a volatile position and it's often said to be the hardest to scout for talent in football, but if there's a short list of guys whose opinion you should probably trust when it comes to signal-callers, Yurcich would be on it. 

He has mentored NFL draft picks like Mason Rudolph at Oklaohma State and Heisman finalists like Justin Fields at Ohio State over the past few seasons and sees some similar qualities in Ehlinger. 

"He has a high football IQ and you know, he's a good business mind as well," Yurcich said. "So this doesn't pertain to football, but he's a very intelligent man. To say the least. So his intelligence, his ability to run the ball, but throw with tremendous accuracy. He's got good footwork and get you out he can manage the game you know really well because he can get you out of bad plays. He knows where the defense's tremendous vision so he's the total package.

Though Yurcich hasn't spent a ton of time around Ehlinger yet, there's one other quality he's already picked up on. 

"But the most significant trait I'd say is his leadership ability, you know, his ability to grab the guys' attention to get them focused," Yurcich said. "He's on him right now, when we get morning workouts. And something's not going right throughout the week, somebody misses somebody late, whether it be tutors or workouts he's on and he and he's controlling that. So he's disciplining, it's player-driven. And that's it. It's It's awesome to see that it's awesome to be a part of that."

What do you think?

Can Yurcich help Ehlinger take the next step in his maturation process? How much of an effect will he have on the senior's development? Sound off in the comments and let your voice be heard.